From home-school to classroom: Kids face challenge of transition

This article, "From home-school to classroom: Kids face challenge of transition,"by Rebecca Dube, shows the view of home-schooled kids coming into a new school. She describes some of the reason for transitioning. Although some of the reason might simply be the parent believes the child would have more success in a public school setting, a lot of the time the reason is financial: the parent needs to go back to work. The child may or may not like the new system of public schooling. Some may enjoy the interaction with other kids, while others complain about how there's "too much organizing instead of learning." Some parents try to prepare their children by talking to them, showing them around the school, or buddying them up with other students in the school. The transition is also hard for the parent.

Although there are obvious benefits of home-schooling (like learning at your own pace, not having to abide by silly school rules, not needing to leave the home to learn), it's my opinion that it's in a child's best interest to go to public school or private school. I believe this because the child is not interacting with kids as much as he or she should. I'm not saying all home-schooled kids are socially awkward, but it's difficult to be at home everyday with parents, and then transitioning straight to a work environment where there are lots of people, many of whom will not adore the individual as much as mom and dad did. So, I believe that the transition has to be made eventually, and one might as well get it over with when they still have time to learn and develop social skills, like how to help others with homework, share and play games together. My cousin was home-schooled his whole life, and although he did have contact with other people, he hardly had any friends his own age and it was very difficult for him to live a childhood with virtually no friends. When I have children, they will hopefully be going to a public or private school.

Republicans Wanting to Change Health Laws, but how?

This article, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39295110/ns/health-health_care/, describes how Republicans want to change the health laws passed last year. However, the articles shows how each way may fail. One way the Republicans could change the health laws is to simply repeal and replace what's on the bill. However, this could be difficult because it would take a large majority to repeal and replace parts of the bill. Also, it's not so easy to take out parts of the bill without messing up the rest of it. Another way would be to virtually de-fund the bill. In other words, stop funding for parts of the bill they don't approve of. A third way to change the bill could be to do an "oversight showdown" where the Republicans simply put a lot of pressure on the Democrats to explain the bill, hopefully proving that the bill will do more harm than help.

Personally, I agree that the bill needs to be changed. I think the bill will put too much strain on doctors, working too much for too little money. This will make people not want to go to medical school to be paid so little, leaving the only health care personnel to be nurses and other not as well educated people. This will greatly decrease the quality of our health care. And what's the point in everyone having health care, if it's not effective health care? I've read and heard about numerous examples of other countries having universal health care like we do, and their situations are not as bright as we make our health care seem. However, I do see the other side of the situation. It would be virtually impossible for the Republicans, who currently only have 41 members in the Senate, to change the laws in any way. But the bill definitely needs to be revised, or else this country's health care could degenerate greatly.